Media Access Control (MAC) addresses are unique identifiers associated with a given network device and each defines a network interface for a network device on a physical network. MAC addresses are also referred to as burned-in address (BIA) or an Ethernet hardware address (EHA) or a physical address. Conventional network devices are permanently assigned, by the device manufacturer, a unique MAC address, which is used in authentication processes to gain access to a network.
As the number of network devices continue to grow, the number of available MAC addresses that can be used by device manufacturers are also diminished.